Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 758,159. PATENTED APR. 26, 1904.

F. E. WAY.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEBTSSHEBT 1.

' N0.'7 58,l59. PATENTED APR. 26, 1904.

v P E. WAY. v AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLIGATION FILE-D JULY 1, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2'S HBETSSHEET 2.

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ma Noni"; PETERS cu. mTD-LTNQ. WASmNGTm, a. c.

UNITE STATES Patented April 2c, 1904..

PAT NT OFFicE.

FRANK E. WAY, OF WAHOO, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR' OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN S'lEEN, OF WAHOU, NEBRASKA.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0.' 758,159, dated April 26, 1904.

Application filed July I, 1903. Serial No. 163,974. (No model.) i

ter by a mechanism actuated automatically by the rising or falling of a gas bell.

The object of my invention is to obtain a i more accurate, certain, and satisfactory feed of carbid to the Water in the generator-tank, requiring a minimum of power to operate the same, feeding the carbid automatically in uniformly-m'easured quantities in such a manner that there is never an open passage from the carbid-holdcr to the water'in the generatortank through which the carbid might run, owing to the breaking or failure to operate of any portion of the mechanism; to provide a method of feeding the carbid to the water whereby bridging of the carbid and clogging of the passage shall be practically impossible and at the same time feed the carbid in small and graduated amounts; to avoid the use of slide-valves and other similar contrivances, which, owing to the hard and gritty nature of the carbid, soon become ineifective by reason of the wear to which they are necessarily subjected; to provide a complete apparatus, including gasometer, fitted with all necessary safety appliances and means of purifying the gas, so as to furnish a safe and satisfactory acetylene plant sufficiently simple in construction to be readily understood and safely operated by one having no mechanical skill or knowledge and capable of being readily cleaned without disconnection of its parts or the admission of air into either the generator or gasometer. I attain these objects in the following manner, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification, and in which like letters always refer to like parts of the machine throughout the several views.

Figure I is a vertical section through the center of the complete apparatus, consisting of generator and gasometer. Fig. His a'central vertical section through'a portion of the machine, taken on the same plane as Fig. I, but showing the feed mechanism in chamber in the act of discharging the carbid into the water. Fig. III is a perspective view of the crank-shaft 0 designed to show the semicircular portion a with the plane of the semicircle at a right angle to the cranksc and 0 The generator consists of three superimposed chambers viz., the tank A for holding the water, provided with a funnel-shaped bottom a", in which is a valve a through which the water may be conveniently withdrawn when necessary either into a bucket or the sewer. The tank A is also provided with a water-gage a so connected with the watersupply pipe a that it may be flushed and kept .clean by closing valve a and opening valve a when cleaning and refilling the generator. cf is the gas-outlet pipe running to the gas- "ome'ter and provided with valves 6* and a and at its most dependent portion the dripcock for condensed moisturea B is the carbid-holder, provided with afunnel-shaped bottom 5 and a removable cap 6 for the purpose of refilling. The cap 6 is secured tightly in place by the cam Z2 which is connected with the valve 6' by the rod 5 the object of which will be more fully explained later; Supporting the carbid holder and connecting it with the generator-tank A is a chamber 0, containing the mechanism by means of whichthe feeding of the carbid to the water is accomplished. 'This mechanism consists of the flexible tube 0', through which the carbid passes to the generator-tank below, attached at its upper extremity to the opening in the funnel-shaped bottom 6 of the carbid-holder -B and having its lower end free and weighted with a ring-shaped piece of metal, preferably lead,'(shown in section at 0 and the crank-shaft 0 upon which are formed two cranks 0 the portion of the rod between said cranks being bent-into a halfcircle 0 so as to pass the flexible tube 0 Without impinging upon it when it is in the position shown in Fig. I, the plane of the semicircular part 0 of the crank-shaft c then being at a right angle to the axis of the flexible tube 0. Said crank-shaft 0 is provided with stufling-boxes o attached to the walls of chamber 0, through which the free ends of said crank-shaft pass, one end making a socket connection with the rod D, shown in perspective and which is journaled to pipe (6 at (l and which serves to operate crank-shaft 0 0 and c" are connecting-rods journaled to the cranks c and passing down through openings in the funnel-shaped casing and carrying upon their lower ends the metallic cone (0, the weight of which is borne by the springs a and o and the use of which will be fully explained later.

The gasometer shown is of conventional type, consisting of the tank F, containing water, and the gas-bell Gr, rising and falling in the same. r

g is a sleeve loosely surrounding the safetypipe f and serving the double purpose of steadying the gas-bell and providing an outlet for surplus gas accidentally generated in excess of the capacity of the bell.

f is the service-pipe supplying the burners and furnished with a drip-cock f 5 and a filter f for removing from the gas any remaining moisture which -may have escaped condensation in the condenser and arresting any dust or impurities or light particles of carbid which may be carried over by the stream of gas.

f" is a surface-condenser placed vertically within the tank F.

g is a lug attached to the top of the gasbell and so placed that as the bell falls the lug g comes in contact with and depresses the arm 0Z thus raising the weight d at the end of lever d been raised sufficiently to: pass the center,it falls by gravity until arrested by striking the arm d, attached to the collar d upon the pipe a", having described an arc of about one hundred and eighty degrees, and thereby rotated rod D one-half turn.

d* is another arm attached to rod D in such a manner that 'it is-raised by lug 9 when gas bell rises, and thus rotates rod D and restores weight to its former position.

In Fig. II the crank-shaft c has performed half a revolution, whereby the semicircular portion 0 of said crank-shaft is forced downward and backward against the flexible tube 0, thus compressing the same and constricting its caliber, the connecting-rods 0 being simultaneously depressed, lowering the metal cone (6 and permitting the escape into the water of the quantity of carbid contained in the flexible tube 0 below the point of compression by the semicircular portion 0" of the crank-shaft 0 Beginning at this point with the discharge of the carbid into the water, the operation of the machine is as follows: When the carbid When the weight d has 7 comes in contact with the water, there is an immediate generation of a quantity of gas sufflcient to raise the gas-bell, causing lug g to act upon arm cl and rotate shaft D, thus restoring weight d to the position shown in Fig. I. During the restoration of weight d to its former position the crank-shaft 0 is rotated by the shaft D, thus raising the metal cone (0 by means of the connecting-rods 0" until the opening in the funnel-shaped bottom 0 of the chamber 0 is closed. thereby. At the same time the semicircular portion 0 of the crank-shaft c is rotated forward, releasing the pressure on the flexible tube dand permitting the carbid in the holder B to feed ,down and fill the tube 0 ready for another feed, all parts being now restored to the position shown in Fig. I. As the gas in the gas-bell Gr is consumed the bell G slowly falls until the lug g comes in contact with and depresses the arm d causing the shaft D to rotate and carry with it the weight d. I/Vhen weight (Z, passes the point directly over the shaft D, it falls by gravity until stopped by the arm (Z In its fall it first causes the semicircular portion 0 of crank-shaft c to compress the flexible tube 0', thus preventing any more carbid from coming down from the carbid-holder B, and then depresses the metallic cone (0 by means of the connecting-rods 0, permitting the amount of carbid contained in the flexible tube 0 below the point of compression by the semicircular portion 0 of the crank-shaft 0 to escape into the generatortank A, thus generating a fresh supply of gas. In actual use I have found a good quality of heavy canvas to be the best material out of which to construct the flexible tube 0.

The method of securing the cap 6 to the carbid-holder B has been previously referred to and will now be more explicitly explained. Between the cap 6 and its seat F is placed a ring of rubber to'serve as a packing. WVhen the lever of the cam is depressed, as shown in Fig, I, the cap is forced down against said packing and a tight joint is secured. As a precautionary measure to avoid the escape of gas from the gas=bell G into the room during valve 12* and connected with the earn 5 by.

means of the connecting-rod I), a means is provided which makes it impossible to remove cap 6 from the carbid-holder without closing valve 12*. It is equally impossible to fasten cap Z) in place on carbid-holder B without opening valve 7), for in order to remove cap '6 it is necessary to raise lever 6 in order to release the cam 6 and in the act of raising lever b the connecting-rod b is thrust forward, closing valve 6, In fastening cap 6' in place the reverse occurs. The helical springs (0 upon the connecting rods g andwhich support the weight of the metal cone (4 have alsobeen-referred to, i

and I will now more clearly explain their use. WVhen the gas-bell G has fallen to the point where the lug 9 begins to depress the arm d on the shaft D, rotating the same, the crankshaft 0 b gins to rotate, causing the semicircular portion 0 of the crank-shaft 0 tovbegin to compress the flexible tube 0'. VVereit not for the resiliency of the helical springs 64 the metal cone (4 would also at this stage begin to drop, and thus open the orifice in the funnel-shaped bottom (2'' of the chamber C, permitting the escape of some carbid before the v flexible tube 0 has been completely occluded.

As constructed, the springs a which are considerably compressed when the apparatus is in the position shown in Fig. I, hold the metal cone a against the opening in the funnel-shaped bottom a of the chamber C until the tube a has been sufficiently compressed to assure its occlusion against the fall of carbid from above. When the carbid contained in the flexible tube a has been discharged into the water in the tank A and the gas-bell begins to rise, rotating the crank-shaft 0 in the reverse direction by means of the mechanism already described, the metal cone as is lifted into contact with the opening in the funnel-shaped bottom 0 of the chamber C, occluding the same before the compression of the tube 0' above is released, for said compression of the tube 0' is only completely released when the crank-shaft c has performed its rotation through at least one hundred and thirty-five degrees, while the metal cone a is raised into contact with the opening in 0 when the crank-shaft a has only rotated through ninety degrees. The compressibility of the springs (0 permits the crankshaft c to complete its rotation through one hundred and eighty degrees, and thus completely release the compression of the flexible tube 0 by the semicircular portion c of the crankshaft 0 Y c It will be observed by reference to the drawings that the various parts of the apparatus are so arranged that the water in the generator-tank A can be renewed without the escape of gas into the room. The gasometer containing a good supply of gas, the gate a is opened and the water in the generator-tank A is permitted to flow out into a bucket or into the sewer, as the case may be As the water is withdrawn the gas from tlfe gasomet-er passes back through the pipe at to take its place, filling the generator-tank A. When the water is nearly all withdrawn, as shown by the gage-glass (t the gate a is closed and the valve to in the water-supply pipe a is opened, the water then flowing into the tank A, filling it and driving the gas back through the pipe a into the gasometer, and thus no gas is wasted. While filling the tank A with water the valve (5 may be closed for a few moments, causing the water to pass through the gage-glass a into the tank, thus cleansing the same.

The condenser f contained within the gasometer and surrounded by the water in the same, presents a large amount of surface for the condensation of the moisture in the gas.

The condensed moisture flows by gravity into the short length of pipe surmounting the dripcock a which may be occasionally opened to permit its escape. The valve (0 is ordinarily kept open and is only placed there to pro- Vide a means of closing the connection between the generator and gasometer in case it is desired to do so when the cap 6' is in place. The safety-pipe f provides an escape for any surplus gas that may accidentally be generated, thus avoiding the filling of the house with gas, with consequent danger of explosion.

Having now fully explained the working and construction of my acetylene-gas generator, I will proceed to set forth those features with a movable bell, a generator feeding granular carbid in measured quantities to the waterin the generator-tank, said feeding of the carbid being accomplished by means of a flexible tube through which the carbid passes from the holder, and means for compressing and releasing the same, and a check-valve placed below the lower opening of said flexible tube and so operated that when the flexible tube is open the check-valve is closed, and when the flexible tube is closed the checkvalve is open, said compression ofthe tube and opening and closing of the check-valve being accomplished automatically by means of a mechanism placed between the gasometer and generator and consisting essentially of a horizontal shaft, one end of which connects with the feed-controlling device within the generator, said shaft being journaled in bearings attached to the ascending and descending limbs of the pipe connecting the generatorand gasometer, and having attached near its center a weight, and carrying near the end toward the gasometer two arms placed at an angle to each other and so designed that with the-descent of the gas-bell a lug upon said gas-bell shall engage one of the arms, and with the assistance of the weight rotate the aforementioned shaft through 'one hundred and eighty degrees, and on the rising of the gas-bell the aforementioned lug shall engage the other arm and rotate the shaft in the opposite direction through one hundred and eighty degrees, restoring the parts to their original position, the rotation of the shaft imin the same, all in combination and substantially as specified.

2. In an acetylene-gas apparatus, in combination, agasometer with a movable bell, a generator with three superimposed chambers, the uppermost being the carbid-holder, and being provided with an opening for replenishing the supply of carbid, said opening being closed by means of a metal cap which is forced down against a packing by means of a cam, said cam having two arms or levers, one of which serves as a handle for operating the same, and the other connecting by means of a rod with a lever attached to the stem of a valve placed in the pipe connecting the generator and gasometer, the whole being so arranged that the cover of the carbid-holder cannot be removed without closing said valve, nor fastened in position again without opening the valve; the lower chamber of said generator adaptedto contain water, and being provided with an inlet-pipe for filling, a water-gage and means for cleaning the same, an outlet-pipe for gas, and an opening at its'most dependent portion for removing the slush; the middle chamber containing the device for controlling the feed of carbid from the carbid-holder, and having a funnel-shaped bottom, with an opening in communication with the generator-tank below, said openingbeing ordinarily closed by a conical check-valve; a pipe connecting the generator and gasometer, said pipe being shaped like an inverted U, having its descending limb the longest and provided at its most dependent portion with a drip-cock, said pipe also having journaled to itin a horizontal position a shaft, one end of which is in connection with a crank-shaft within the intermediate chamber of the generator, and the other end of which bears two arms inserted in a collar upon said shaft, at an angle to each other and at right angles to the axis of said shaft, said arms being so disposed that one of them will come in contact with a lug attached to the gas-bell, during its descent, and the other will come in contact with said lug during the ascent of the bell, said shaft also carrying near its center. a metal collar to which is attached an arm bearing a weight at its free end, and another arm extending in the opposite direction and serving to limit the fall of the weight upon the other arm, all in combination and substantially as specified.

FRANK E. WAY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES J. MILLER, WM. J. HAPKE. 

